Escape from Arth
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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Take control of one of the cyborgs VOTO & VETI who have become TRAPPED on a doomed alien planet inhabited by deadly ROBOT FLYING OBJECTS! Use your wits, cunning, laser blaster and SUPER JETPAC to defeat your robotic foes. Keep your blaster topped up with AMMO PODS and reveal more locations on the mysterious planet by using switches to deactivate the generators. 

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You’ve got one hour to save the Arth. That sounds like a lot right? Especially when we’re talking about a Commodore 64 game.

How many times have you ever played a C64 game without seeing “Game Over” flashing on the screen at LEAST once each 5 minutes?

Of course you got games like “Dan Dare“, “Infiltrator” and “Detective Game” that takes some time to complete, but at least there you are not buggered by Droidbots, Hoverbots or Boingbots every few seconds.

Anyway, I felt up for the challenge so I ordered the 5.25″ disc edition of the game from Psytronik software. Escape from Arth, Special Edition! 

I guess most of you remember the amazing feeling back in the 80s and 90s when you just bought or borrowed a new C64 game and couldn’t wait to get home and load it up for the first time. A feeling that for me, no other games on any platform has managed to give me.

That was the exact same feeling I got today when I opened my mail.
That alone has to be worth the low price (£5) this game sells for.

After feeding the disc to my old faithful 1541 and doing the usual LOAD “*”,8,1 I was ready to go.

The first menu actually let you choose between the original 1994 edition of the game and the new 2008 Special edition. I have tried both, but I will focus this review on the 2008 edition.

For me, one of the most important aspects when playing Commodore 64 games is the Game menu. That includes the menu-graphics as well as the soundtrack.

Escape from Arth did not let me down. The soundtrack starts out pretty simple, but after a minute or two it turns into a hard and funky tune that I would have no problems putting on my mp3 player (except from the 15 last seconds that sounds like someone going mental with a dog flute). The menu graphics isn’t bad either.
 Escape from Arth sparkles on the top with the usual credits scrolling by beneath.

As you can see from the screenshot you can choose whether you want to play as a male or a female. How many action shooters back then gave you that choice?

True to my gender, I choose male, sfx ON and Easy. (Difference in difficulty seems to affect the time you get to save the Arth.)

Here I also spotted a difference from the original 94′ release. The special edition doesn’t give you the “How to play” option. That doesn’t matter much since the booklet that follows the game offers a good intro to the story, as well as an overview of the game keys.

Armed with a jetpack and a blaster I set out on my mission to find 5 access codes spread across the planet, pulling levers to open doors and finally boarding the launch craft that takes me away from this hostile place. Only a gazzilion bots in all forms and shapes stands between me and my goal.

The ingame graphics are not fantastic, but they are not the worst I have seen either. There are at times so many colors and shapes that until you get the hang of it, it’s hard to see which items are of relevance to you and which items are not.

The planet is gigantic, so I would absolutely recommend having a pen and some paper at hand so that you can draw a map and mark your findings. On most of the screens you will find platforms that take you either to the frame above or below the current frame depending on the way of the arrow. In other words it’s easy to get lost.

The bottom interface keeps track of my score, lives, ammo and remaining time.

After playing nonstop for about 2 hours I have managed to gather some access codes and pull a few switches. It’s a great feeling every time I manage to open a closed door and get to see a new place, but at the same time it hurts so bad every time I die and have to start all over again. Keeping a close eye on your health bar and not taking many risks will take you a good step on your journey to escape the planet, but don’t get too careful or you will end up running out of time, or even ammo.

The bots will drop weapon upgrades, extra lives and items that add to your score as you shoot them. You have to be quick or they will disappear.

I like to keep some questions unanswered when I review games. Not only because it will take forever to comment every single aspect of a game, but also because I want people to try them out for themselves. This is not a £50 purchase at your local computer store, it’s a £5 piece of history only found online that will entertain both you and your retro friends for hours and also add some much needed support to the future of retro gaming.

- Game review by Fredrik Christensen


http://system-log.com/2011/02/20/game-review-c64-escape-from-arth/
